NORFOLK, Va. – With Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin’s cardiac emergency on the football field, the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is gaining attention.
On Friday, employees of WTKR participated in a CPR/AED training through American Heart Association.
AHA says studies show that only half of Americans would perform CPR when needed. The organization says some don’t know what to do and fear they could hurt the victim.
While full CPR, with chest compressions and rescue breaths are recommended, hands-only is better than nothing, experts say.
“Breaths are encouraged: 30 compressions and two breaths,” explained instructor Andrea Ishee. “But it’s not always safe or practical to do so. Still, do not hesitate to do those compressions, because the heart is not beating so it needs us to provide that manual heartbeat to provide that manual beat.”
Ishee said a person performing CPR greatly increases a person’s chance of survival. In fact, she said, “For every minute that goes by, that person is in cardiac arrest and no compressions are being done and nothing is being done at all, their chance of survival goes down by 10% every minute.”
American Heart Association wants the public to know that using CPR and the automated external defibrillator is not just for professionals. To find a training near you through AHA, click here. American Red Cross also has courses, listed here. Some virtual classes are also offered.
During February, Cardiovascular Disease Awareness Month, the Greenbrier Y is hosting a Senior Heart Health Month Fair on February 22 from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm at the Greenbrier Family YMCA, 1033 Greenbrier Parkway in Chesapeake.
As for Damar Hamlin who continues to recover, he partnered with the American Heart Association to increase CPR awareness. In his 3-step challenge, Step 1 is to learn CPR. Step 2 is to donate to help fund CPR education and research. Step 3 is to post a picture with your hands in a heart shape and challenge at least three friends to do the same, using #3forheart.
